Machine for moistening envelops.



E. E. GRAYL.

MACHINE FOR MOISTENING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. l9l9.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

5 SHEETSSHEET I.

E. E. GRAY.

MACHINE FOR MOISTENING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. 1919.

Patented Dec 30, 1919.

5 SHEETSSHEET 2- E. E. GRAY.

MAGHI-NE FOR MOISTENING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5| I919.

Patented Dec. 30,1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3 inventor.

E. E. GRAY.

MACHINE FOR MOISTENING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR-5.1919.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- J ave 71/ 5'07" #AQM E. E. GRAY.

MACHINE FOR MOISHNING ENVELOPS.

APPLlCATIUN FILM) APR-5.1939.

Patented Dec. 30,1919.

5 SHEETS -SHEET 5.

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MACHINE FOR MOISTENING ENVELOPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Application filed April 5, 1919. Serial No. 287,775.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER E. GRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Quincy, in the county of Norfolk and State of lllassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Moistening Envelops, of which the following description, in con neetion with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus for moistening the flaps of envelops preparatory to scaling the latter.

The invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive and highly efficient apparatus with which a maximum number of envelops may have their flaps moistened in a minimum time, so that a maximum number of envelops may be sealed in a minimum time.

To this end, the apparatus is provided with a relatively large drum for feeding the envelops, and with which cooperates means for lifting the flaps of the envelops as they are fed by the drum, and also means for moistening the lifted flaps. The drum is preferably provided on the periphery with a friction member to increase the trio tional engagement of the drum with the envelops and thereby insure substantially positive feed action of the drum upon the envelo-ps.

The drum may and preferably will have cooperating with it a holder for a pile of envelops whose flaps are to be moistened, a stripper to insure the envelops being fed one at a time, and a receiver for the envelops whose flaps have been moistened. These and other features of this invention will :be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying this invention.

Fig. 2, a detail in section of the drum shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, a longitudinal section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1. I

Fig. 1, a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5, an opposite side elevation.

Fig. 6, a vertical cross section on the line 6-G, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7, a detail in section on the line 7 7 Fig. 1 to show the flap of the envelop being moistened.

In the embodiment of the invention here? in shown 10 represents a relatively large drum, preferably of sheet metal, which is fast on a shaft 12 mounted to turn in the framework of themachine. In the present instance the framework comprises essentially a base 13 and upright side frames erected thereon. Each side frame is preferably made as a rod which is bent to form upright portions 14, 15, a horizontal portion 16 and upwardly inclined portions 17, 18. The horizontal portions 16 are connected by a vertically arranged yoke piece or frame com-prising a top cross bar 19 and depending side bars 20, which are fastened to the horizontal portions 16 of the side frames by clamps 21 and screws 22, or in any other suitable manner. The side bars 20 support the shaft 12. The inclined rods 17 of the side frames support a holder for the envelops whose flaps are to be moistened. This holder as shown consists of a bottom plate 24 having an upright side wall 25. The plate 24 is suitably secured to cross bars 26, 27 frictionally engaged with the inclined portions 17 of the side frames, and the pile or stack of envelops placed upon the plate are pressed against the upright wall 25 by a sheet metal spring 28 supported by the inclined portion 17 0f the adjacent side frame. The envelop holder is adjustable on the side frames toward and from the drum 10 to accommodate envelops of different lengths, and said holder may be properly positioned with relation to the drum by sliding the cross bars 26, 27 on the inclined portions 17 of the side frames. The envelop holder 24' is laterally adjustable on the cross bars 26, 27 to accommodate envelops of different widths. The pile of envelops are designed to be pushed forward by the operator against a stop, shown as a bar 30, see Fig. 4, which is secured at its upper end to the cross bar 19, and which has secured to it as by a clamp 31 and screw 32, a yielding device, such as a piece of sheet metal33, whose lower end is placed in close proximity to the drum 10, but is separated therefrom a suflicient distance to permit of the passage beneath it of the bottom envelop of the pile, thereby insuring the feed of the envelops through the machine in succession. The device 33 will be hereinafter referred to as the stripper. The drum 10 acts as a support for the front end of the pile of envelops, and also acts as a feeding device-for the envelops, and for this latter purpose, the drum is'provided on its periphery with means for obtaining an 1ncreased frictional grip upon the bottom. en-

velop of the pile, so as to insure the envelops being withdrawn from the bottom of the pile and fed through the machine.

Excellent results have been obtained bv v providing the drum on its periphery with a friction member, preferably in the form of a plurality of rubber bands 34 which are vone another and are yielding so that assthe drum is revolved the tits 'or projections are bent backward when engaged withthe bottom envelop so as to increase or lengthen the grip of the tit or projection upon the envelop and thereby insure the withdrawal of the bottom envelop from the bile and the proper feed of the same through the machine with the drum revolving at a relatively high speed. The drum 10 also has coiiperating with it means for lifting or raising the flap of the envelop and means for moistening the lifted flap on its under or gummed surface. These devices are located above the drum in proximity thereto and may be made as herein shown. The flap lifting device is shown as a bent rod or wirg 36 having a curved front portion or nose 37 which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly from its front end, which latter is brought substantially close to the drum, see Fig. 4, so as to insure the flap 38 of the envelop 39", see dotted lines, Fig. 1, riding over the curved front portion or nose as the envelop is fed for ward by the drum. The rear portion of the rod 36 may be made straight and located above the drum asuflicient distance to insure the flap at its center portion being raised so as to engage freely the moistening device, which is preferably made as a conical roller 40 mounted to turn freely in a trough 41 formed in a support for the roller 40, see Figs. 1 and 6. The lifting device 36 is attached to and supported by the trough 41. The support referred to is made as a bar or plate 42, preferably of sheet metal, which is rigidly secured at its rear end to the framework of the machine. In the present instance, the bar 42 is extended over the upper edge of a vertical plate 43 which is secured to the horizontal portion 16 of one of the side frames as by a clamping plate 44 and screws 45, (see Figs. 5 and 6). The plate 43 is provided as herein shown with laterally extended ears or flanges 46 which form a slot between them and in which slot the rear end of the bar 42 is extended. The rear end of the bar 42 is rigidly secured by means of a clamping member 47, composed of a bent piece of steel, whose upper arm 48 is of suflicient width to overlap the flanges or ears 46 of the supporting plate 43 and whose under arm '49 is designed to engage the under side of the bar 42 and ine flanges 46. The arms 48, 49 of the clamp 47 maybe connected by a bolt 50 by means of which additional pressure upon the bar 42 may be obtained to hold the rear end thereof stationary and in fixed. relation to the flanges or.ears 46 and thereby to the side frame of the machine. The bolt 50 may be permanantly' attached to the clamping member 47, and the bar 42 provided with a slot 51 extended from its rear endas shown by dotted lines Fig. 1 to permit the bolt to pass freely into it as the clamp 47 is slipped into place.

The conical roller 40 is suitably mounted to turn in the trough and runs in water whichis supplied to the trough 41 through an inlet opening 53 in the upper surface thereof near the rear end of the trough, as shown in Fig. 6. The inlet opening- 53 communicates with the open mouth of an inverted glass 54 which constitutes one form of reservoir or supply tank for the-trough and which is supported by the bar 42. In the present instance the bar 42 is shown as provided with an annular lip 55 within,

which the mouth of the glass '54 is located, and is pressed against the bar 42 to make an airtight fit with a gasket 155, by a locking device or bar 56 which engages the bottom of the inverted glass. The locking device 56 is pivotally mounted on a bail 57, which is pivoted at its ends to ears 58- on the bar 42. The roller '40 has coiiperating with it a presser device, represented as an arm- 59 having its front end curved upwardly, as at 59 see Fig. 6, so that the lifted flap may pass freely under the presser device, the rear side of which is in close proximity to the roller 40 so as to insure the flap 38 being engaged with the roller and its gummed surface moistened thereby, see Fig. 7. The presser device 59 is attached to and supported by the trough 41.

The envelop 39 is fed by the drum 10 from the flap moistener onto a receiver, preferably adjustable with relation to the drum in one direction to lengthen or shorten the receiver according to the length of envelops being moistened, and also laterally with relation to the drum according to the width of the envelops.

' To this end, the receiver is composed of two members, preferably of sheet metal, one of which consists of an upriglit wall60 from which extends a horizontal flange 61. The other member comprises a horizontal wall 62 and an upright rear wall 63. The horizontal wall 62 rests on the flange61 and is capable of sliding thereon toward and away from the drum 10 and is held thereon by guide pieces 163 struck out of the side wall till 60 and engaging a vertical flange 65.0n the horizontal wall 62. The horizontal wall 62 is preferably provided with a recess 66 to permit the pile of envelops assembled on the receiver to be readily removed therefrom by the handof the operator.

' The movement of the receiver laterally with relation to the drum may be effected as shown, by supporting the receiver on swing arms or levers 70, 71, see Figs. 1 and 5, the lever 70 being pivotally mounted on the upright portion 14 of a side frame, and the lever 71 being pivotally mounted on a post 72 afiixed to the base 13. Y

The levers 70, 71 are substantially parallel and enable the receiver to be moved laterally in a substantially straight path to adjust it with'relation to the drum according to the width of the envelops being used. The drum 10 has cooperating with it a guide to direct the envelops to the receiver. This guide is shown as a plate 74 detachably secured to a side frame by lugs or ears 75 in connection with a fla'nge 76, see Fig. 4.

In operation with the apparatus herein shown, a pile of envelops to be sealed are placed on the holder 24 with their flaps uppermost and with their front ends engaged with the stop 30 and the bottom envelop of the pile resting at its front end on the drum after the manner represented in Fig. 4. The operator revolves the drum in the direction of the arrow 77 by means of a. suitable crank or handle 7 8 on the shaft 12, and the lowermost envelo of the pile is carried forward by the revo ving drum, and its flap 38 is raised by the lifting device 36 and moistened by the roller 40 as the envelop is carried by the drum beneath the trough 41, and discharged on to the receiver. As the envelops accumulate in the receiver, the lower ones are sealed by the weight of those above. It will be observed. that the envelops can be passed through the machine at a rapid rate by the revolving drum. The stripper 33 is capable of being fastened to the cross bar 19, so that it is located out of the path of the flaps, and the former therefore does not engage the flaps and disturb their relation to the envelops, thereby avoiding defective sealing of the flaps. Furthermore, it is preferred to provide the drum in-the plane of the stripper with a smooth friction band 7 9, that is one without tits, as represented in Fig. 1, so that the envelop may pass freely under the stripper.

Provision may be made to prevent the envelops dropping below the proper point of the drum for effective feeding and to prevent liability of the envelops being doubled back by the drum. To this end, I provide a cross bar 80 which is connected with the side frames of the machine. By securing the bar or plate 42 in fixed relation to the frame of the machine as above described,

the trough 41 which has its bottom slightly below the horizontal tangent to the u per part of the drum as shown in Fig. 7, is ept in this position and the envelops passing thereunder arepreventedfrom turning upward and are on the other hand directed downward toward the receiver.

Further. it will be observed by reference to Fig. 3, that the supporting bar 42 is located at the rear side of a vertical plane through the center of the drum, which allows the rigid flap lifter to depress the envelop sufliciently to. enable the flap to ride over the lifter, thereby insuring the flap of each envelop being moistened.

By means of the relatively large drum, the envelops can be passed rapidly through the machine and the flaps moistened. and sealed in a minimum time. Furthermore the drum can be revolved rapidly with a minimum of power. Thewater is retained in the reservoir by vacuum. I

I have herein shown one construction of apparatus embodying the invention, but it is not desired to limit the invention to the particular construction shown.

Claims.

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum to support and feed the envelops to be moistened, a holder foraplurality of envelops located at one side of the drum, a stripper-located above the said drum to cause theenvelop's to be fed by the drum one at a time, a flap raising device and a flap moistening device located over the drum and in proximity thereto to cause the flap of an envelop fed by the drum to be lifted and moistened While the envelop is bearing upon the pe riphery of said drum and is being fed by the same, and a receiver for the moistened envelops arranged on the side of the drum opposite to the holder.

2. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, in combination, a rotatable drum to support and feed the envelops to be moistened, a holder for a pile of envelops 1ocated at one side of the said drum and adjustable toward and from and laterally with relation to said drum, a stripper located over the said drum to cause the envelops to be fed by the drum one at a time, a flap rais ing device and a flap moistening device located above the drum and in proximity thereto to cause the flap of an envelop fed by the drum to be lifted and moistened while the envelop is bearing upon the periphery of said drum and is being fed by the same, and

a receiver for the moistened envelop arranged on the side of the drum opposite to the holder.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum to support and feed the envelops to be moistened, a holder for a plurality of envelops located at one side of the drum, a stripper located above the said drum to cause the envelops to be fed by the drum one at a time, a flap raising device and a flap moisten'ing device located over the drum and in proximity thereto to cause the flap of an envelop fed by the drum to be lifted and moistened while the envelop is bearing upon the periphery of said drum and is being fed by the same, and a receiver for the moistened envelops arranged on the side of the drum opposite to the holder and adjustable toward and from the drum and laterally with relation thereto.

4. In an apparatus of the cliaracter described, in combination, arotatable drum to support and feed the envelops to be moistened, a flap lifting device and a flap moistening device located over and cooperating with said drum to lift and moisten the flap of an envelop while the latter bears upon and is fed by said drum.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum provided on its periphery with a friction member for engaging an envelop to be fed by the drum, means located over the drum for lifting the flap of said envelop, and

means for moistening the lifted flap as the envelop bears upon and is being fed by said drum.

' 6. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum provided on its periphery with a plurality of friction members having tits or projections to engage an envelop to be fed by the drum, means for lifting the flap of said envelop, and means for moistening the lifted fiap while the envelop bears upon and is being fed by said drum, both of said means 00- operating with the said drum.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a drum to support and feed the envelops, a device to lift the flaps of the envelops'and a device to moisten the lifted flaps, a support for said devices located above said drum and rigidly secured against movement at one end.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination a drum to support and feed the envelops, a device for lifting the flaps and means to moisten the lifted flapscooperating with said drum to act on said flaps while the envelops are individually supported by and moved longitudinally by said drum.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a drum to support and feed the envelops, a stripper, a flap lifting device and means for moistening the lifted flap, all located above and cooperating with said drum and arranged With relation thereto and to each other to act in succession upon an envelop fed through the apparatus While said envelop bears upon and is being fed by said drum.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ELMER E. GRAY. 

